Volkswagen International Litigation Overview

The statute of limitations expired on December 31, 2018. It is no longer possible to join this group litigation.

ISAF will continue to update participants on the KapMuG proceedings.

In September 2016, thousands of lawsuits were filed by damaged VW investors in the Regional Court in Braunschweig, Germany where VW is headquartered. The lawsuits, by various investors and litigation coalitions, are now consolidated under the German collective action procedures, known as “KapMuG”- a single institutional plaintiff and a single law firm. In this case, TILP Litigation Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH (“TILP”), was selected by the Court to represent all investors and coalitions at the proceedings in Braunschweig.

The German legal system, like most other European jurisdictions, requires investors to be proactive and file or “opt-in” to a collective action litigation. Under the German system, in order to be guaranteed participation in any subsequent damages awards, an investor must register its claim with the German court at the onset of the litigation before the expiration of the Statute of Limitation. Additionally, any negotiated local (German) settlement, will most likely only address or favor those investors who already have legal standing within the German court system.

On September 10, 2018, hearings got underway at the Higher Regional Court of Braunschweig, relating to claims of more than €9.5 billion in investor losses, from the stock price drops in connection with the Volkswagen (“VW”) AG “Diesel Scandal”.

ISAF has been involved in the VW “KapMuG” proceedings from the outset having hired TILP to represent the claims of an international coalition of ISAF-registered institutional investors with approximately EUR 1 billion in portfolio VW investment losses.